Chicago River Day
33rd Annual Chicago River Day
May 10, 2025
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
After Party from 12 - 3 p.m.
75+ sites across the Chicago-Calumet River system
Free and Family-Friendly
Registration opens Monday, March 24
Sponsor Chicago River Day
Every year since 1992, Friends of the Chicago River partners with community leaders, municipalities, and landowners to host our largest volunteer stewardship day of the year, Chicago River Day. Volunteers build community and improve our rivers and public spaces by cleaning up harmful litter, mulching trails, and removing invasive plants. At this watershed-wide cleanup, thousands of community members, families, and companies work in and along the 156-mile Chicago-Calumet River system at over 75 locations throughout the city and suburbs. After the event, volunteers come together to swap stories and celebrate their hard work at after parties at Blue Island Beer Company and Burning Bush Brewery.
Featured River Animal
Every year we feature a river animal to help us connect to the animals who rely on us to care for and protect this important river system. The 2025 featured animal is the Spotted Gar which prefer clear, quiet, vegetated waters. Spotted Gar are primitive fish and date back to the Cretaceous period, between 65 to 100 million years ago. This means that the ancestors of today’s spotted gar swam with dinosaurs! They are common in the lower portions of Illinois, but was only first seen in the Chicago River in 2014. The river’s health has rebounded significantly since 1979 when Friends started, making a more welcoming habitat for these beautiful fish.
Here are a few of the many fantastic stories about Chicago River Day 2024 in our local media:
WTTW - The Annual Chicago River Day Cleanup is Saturday
ABC - Thousands of volunteers participate in clean-up for 32nd Chicago River Day
Chicago Tribune - Tiny pieces of plastic pose one of the biggest threats to Chicago River wildlife and water quality
While there is much to celebrate about the river’s renaissance over the past 40 years, litter continues to be a persistent problem, especially in the form of plastics from food and product packaging. Chicago River Day is the flagship event for Friends’ Litter Free Chicago-Calumet River initiative which is dedicated to reducing and eliminating litter in and along our river system through public policy and on the ground action. Interested in helping clean up throughout the year? Check out other Litter Free opportunities here.
Friends of the Chicago River invites you to sponsor this cherished watershed-wide community cleanup. Your sponsorship support allows Chicago River Day to be free and accessible for everyone, ensuring all volunteers have the support and supplies for a successful cleanup.
